Music from JapanOctober 13, 2021 at 6–7 p.m.

Professor Yumiko Oshima-Ryan presents a lecture-recital on pieces from "Our Planet Earth"  by Karen Tanaka (b. 1961), one of the leading living composers from Japan.

Karen Tanaka is an exceptionally versatile composer and pianist. She has composed extensively for concert music, film scores and electronic media. “Her music is delicate and emotive, beautifully crafted, showing a refined ear for both detail and large organic shapes…”, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Her works have been performed by distinguished orchestras and ensembles worldwide including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Brodsky Quartet, BIT20 Ensemble, Gothic Voices, Anúna, among many others. Various choreographers and dance companies, including Wayne McGregor and Nederlands Dans Theater, have often featured her music.

"Lonesome George, in this piece, is the last remaining Pinta Island tortoise, one of the subspecies of Galapagos tortoises" says Tanaka.  "Galapagos once was a paradise of hundreds of thousands of tortoises.  During the past few centuries, the population has been heavily depleted and some species have become extinct.  It was believed that the Pinta tortoise had become extinct.  However, in  1971 a scientist came across a solitary male tortoise on Pinta Island and he became known as "lonesome George". 

George lived at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos chain till 2012. Tanaka continues:

"Humans who drove the Galapagos tortoise into extermination are also responsible for severely damaging our beautiful natural environment."AluAlu